Change is the Law of Life

By Heidi Thibert MC, MFS, MM, CF

Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or the present are certain to miss the future.

John F. Kennedy, 1963

Change is inevitable in every form of life, including the world of sport. And it is often said that it’s not what happens, but how we adapt to it that matters most. Unsettling change is likely to occur at some point in our careers whether our rink closes, our most successful student selects another coach, or our coaching colleagues move away to choose a different path. In all its forms, change can be difficult and require us to rise to meet the challenge of being resilient, just like we ask our athletes to do.

When we look at the brief list below that led the sport to where it is today, we see that each one of the shifts has acknowledged our past to awaken our future. Some altered the rules of the sport and some changed the faces in our sport. In both, our sport needed these adjustments in order to become better and more colorful. As coaches, we teach our athletes to adjust their mindset, training, and technique day in and day out, season by season, as part of their development. The development for the sport is no different.

With the PS Magazine’s efforts to cover the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion, it was clear that there are so many times in our history where change has improved and influenced the future of figure skating.

For example, although U.S. Figure Skating had a non-discrimination policy in place long before 2020, when the ISU—an international organization—created one, it affected people from all the federation countries. This was a major growth moment for the sport in recognizing the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion in figure skating across the globe.

PSA has seen many changes over the years. Here's an excerpt from the 1995 JulyAugust PS Magazine.

Thinking about that breakthrough prompted consideration of the impact of another change— one that involves coaching and involves me professionally: the proposal to integrate coaches as voting members into U.S. Figure Skating, and for coaching education and development to be administered by U.S. Figure Skating under its own programming. This is a major shift in the way coaching education has historically been delivered.

There are many aspects of this transition that are worth discussion, but one that fits with the magazine theme is the vision to provide space and a culture for inclusion that acknowledges the needs of all athletes and coaches. A vision that creates a coach-centered curriculum that meets coaches where they are and stretches them to meet their coaching goals in creating and sustaining an athlete-centered sport.

In 1965 Atoy Wilson was the first Black athlete to compete at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships.

U.S. Figure Skating Museum & Hall of Fame

At the time of the writing of this article, the votes have not been cast for a change in the bylaws at Governing Council. Regardless of the voting outcome, figure skating coaching education in the United States will never be the same. After almost 15 years as a PSA staff member (and a faithful volunteer for years before that), I will be taking a position at U.S. Figure Skating June 1, 2023, to spearhead the design and delivery of a defined coaching pathway and comprehensive coach certification system. This change is in anticipation of the United States Paralympic and Olympic Committee (USOPC) moving towards a requirement for all national governing bodies (NGBs) to certify all their coaches in all their sports. For the first time, the USOPC has identified and stated coaching as a top priority in their Winter Sports Strategic Plan. As such, it will be incumbent on U.S. Figure Skating to utilize coaching resources to establish a coach support network for all of our coaching levels.

I am and will forever be indebted to the PSA organization and community. Without the PSA and standing on all the shoulders of those coaches who generously shared their knowledge and experience to sustain it, I would not feel confident to take on this work. While looking forward to the future, I’m feeling incredibly grateful for the past, and I’ll do my best to honor the legacy of the PSA.

While there are too many to list, below are just some of the major changes (highlighting some of those affecting diversity) that impacted the trajectory of figure skating — changing it forever:

• 1742 - First ice skating club forms in Scotland

• 1902 - First female competes at the World Championships, against men (Madge Syers)

• 1908 - Figure skating is the first winter sport to be included in the Olympics (London)

• 1921 - United States Figure Skating Association formed

• 1938 - Founding of the Professional Skaters Association (Lake Placid)

• 1956 - First Hispanic and Latina to represent the U.S. at Winter Olympic Games (Cathy Machado)

• 1965 - First Black athlete to compete at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships (Atoy Wilson)

• 1973 - The short program introduced, reducing figures to 40% of the total score

• 1976 - First multiracial American athlete competes at the Winter Olympic Games (Tai Babilonia)

• 1988 - First Black athlete medals at the Winter Olympic Games (Debi Thomas)

• 1991 - ISU eliminates compulsory figures from competition

• 1992 - First Asian-American woman to win gold in a Winter Olympic competition (Kristi Yamaguchi)

• 1997 - U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame inducts the first Black athlete (Mabel Fairbanks)

• 2000 - First World Synchronized Skating Championships

• 2002 - First Native American woman to compete in the Winter Olympic Games (Naomi Lang)

• 2004 - Judging system changes from 6.0 to International Judging System (IJS)

• 2015 - ISU allows vocal music in singles and pairs competition

• 2019 - PSA elects first Asian American president (Alex Chang)

• 2020 - U.S. Figure Skating Board of Directors approves DEI pillars to create and nurture an inclusive and diverse environment for all

• PSA forms DEI Committee and appoints chair (Nathan Truesdell)

• ISU revises Code of Ethics to protect skaters from facing discrimination because of their sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and sex characteristics

• 2021 - U.S. Figure Skating hires a Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (Kadari Taylor-Watson)

• 2022 - First openly non-binary athlete competes at the Winter Olympic Games (Timothy LeDuc)

• ISU approves raising age minimum from 15 to 17 for Olympic competition

• Changes the reference of females from “ladies” to “women”

Times change, needs change, [and] organizations change.

- Alex Chang (First Asian-American PSA President) 2019-2022